Preparing for a Challenging Winter: Insights on Global Infectious Disease Trends

In a recent webinar, Andrea Thomas, PhD, DVM, MSc, BSc, director of epidemiology at BlueDot at BlueDot Global, and her team provided insights into the current landscape of infectious diseases globally, focusing on respiratory pathogens impacting the Northern Hemisphere. To learn more, Infection Control Today®)(ICT®) attended the webinar and then interviewed Thomas about the details.

With seasonal viruses such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) resurging alongside the ever-present COVID-19, health care systems are preparing for what could be another challenging winter.

“This is the time of year where, at least in Northern Hemisphere countries, we anticipate the return of seasonal respiratory viruses like seasonal flu and RSV, among a number of others. And BlueDot does a lot of monitoring around the global circulation of these pathogens. And of course, we also keep a close eye on COVID-19, which is not seasonal, but often does have a significant rise in cases in the winter, when we also have flu and RSV and others.”

The Southern Hemisphere’s recent experiences indicate a return to prepandemic patterns, although COVID-19’s year-round presence continues to pressure health care infrastructure.

“[The webinar was] to help get ahead of the Northern Hemisphere season and to look at what we saw in the Southern Hemisphere, which can be informative to understand what we might expect in the Northern Hemisphere,” Thomas said.

The webinar emphasized the importance of monitoring global disease trends to anticipate and manage regional outbreaks effectively. Additionally, Thomas discussed the potential risks posed by avian influenza H5N1, which is now detected in dairy cattle and poses an increased risk of human spillovers in agriculture workers. Although H5N1 currently poses a low risk to the public, it highlights the ongoing need for comprehensive surveillance and vaccination strategies to mitigate potential cross-species transmission.

Thomas explained, “So we touched on that too, to talk about added challenges when it comes to surveillance, when it comes to monitoring closely to understand whether that [H5N1] virus might be changing or potentially, if we had worst case scenario, some spread from human to human, how hard that would be to pick up when we've also got all of these other respiratory diseases at the same time.”

Thomas then addressed the challenges posed by emerging and reemerging vector-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya. These diseases have shown significant spread in regions like Brazil and are now beginning to circulate locally in parts of the US. This increase in cases reinforces the importance of vector control and public health measures to limit local transmission.

Moreover, the discussion touched on the Marburg virus, a highly fatal hemorrhagic fever similar to Ebola. Although primarily endemic to certain parts of Africa, recent outbreaks have emphasized the need for global vigilance. Thomas highlighted the rapid deployment of trial vaccines in response to the latest outbreaks, underscoring the critical role of proactive research and preparedness in managing viral threats.

Infection preventionists and health care facilities can mitigate the impact of respiratory diseases this season by strengthening preventive measures and significantly enhancing ventilation systems to reduce airborne transmission. As Thomas noted, being proactive, rather than reactive, in infection control will be key to minimizing health care-associated infections and protecting health care workers and patients from severe illnesses during the upcoming high-risk winter season.